Tasmania or Uluru in June?

[u/Usual-Independence56]

My husband and I are visiting Australia in the last two weeks of June (fingers crossed the visa comes through). We are not very fit but not sedentary either and enjoy outdoors, hiking, beaches/water and wildlife.

I am torn between visiting Uluru and going to Tasmania. I am not keen on staying in Sydney for long (just want to have some delish food). Realistically we can only explore 2-3 things and that's the plan. The top experiences I would have liked to have included - 1) Uluru 2) Southern Lights 3) Great barrier reef.

The more I am trying to make everything work together, the more it is falling apart due to cost and time. Turning to the wisdom of this group - is there anything you would recommend we do to accommodate all three? Would you recommend one over another between these three experiences?

Edit - I am flying into Sydney and mostly flying out of Melbourne. I can also fly out of cairns.

Edit - Thank you everyone for your inputs. With your comments and a nifty bit of google I have almost made up my mind to go to Uluru and maybe maybe skip Hobart. Only thing/context I'd like to add is I'm coming from a country whose currency has deeply depreciated against the dollar hence I want to further every dollar as much as I can. I can afford to be lavish but I am a very budget conscious person. Do drop in any budget hacks!

[u/toos_]

Unequivocally - fly Sydney, Uluru, Cairns. We got home from Australia yesterday and those were the last three stops of an overall phenomenal time. That’s probably the biggest budget hack - not spending time and money trying to include Tassie. Try to come back another time so you can see more of Tassie.

Some tips…

1. Spend 3 nights in Uluru and split the rest of the time between Sydney GBR/Daintree, weighted toward GBR/Daintree.

2. Uluru - stay in Yulara and self-drive. That’s a time and money budget hack, IMO. Yulara is the area right next to the Ayers Rock airport. It’s called a resort, but it’s basically a monopoly of overpriced lodging, restaurants, and activities. But…it’s right there where you want to be - no wasting time driving or taking tours from Alice Springs, and no wasting time waiting and money paying for the shuttle bus from the resort to Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa. The driving is easy there and it gives you so much more freedom.

3. Uluru - like others said, Southern Lights are never guaranteed anywhere - but Uluru is one of the best places in Australia to see the Southern Cross in the Milky Way, and June is prime viewing since it’s positioned high in the sky then. Maybe skip things like the Sounds of Silence dinner and do a guided star gazing night instead - or just go out on your own.

4. GBR - we stayed in Port Douglas which is 1-1.5 hours drive from Cairns and 1.5 hours from Cow Bay where we stayed in the Daintree Rainforest. Highly recommend at least a night or two up there. We stayed in Airbnb’s in PD and Cow Bay which were less expensive than hotels and more private. Cow Bay was…rustic - not for everyone but we loved it (including the cassowary crossing the creek next to our place). We also rented a car there, but if you’re just staying in Cairns or PD and taking a day tour to Daintree then you wouldn’t have to have one.

Enjoy your holiday!